Prosecutors Outline Case Against Centaurus High Bombing Suspect

BOULDER, Colo. (CBS4) – Prosecutors are outlining their case against a high school student accused of trying to bomb his high school.

Andy DeBartalome, 16, of Lafayette, is charged as an adult with attempted murder.

Police say DeBartalome left a pipe bomb inside Centaurus High School in Lafayette in May. A school employee found a suspicious package and thought it was a lunch bag until she saw the words “tick tock bomb” written on it. It was taken outside, and a bomb squad eventually retrieved the package and destroyed it an empty field.

The prosecution revealed lots of evidence in the case in Boulder County Court on Wednesday and they called numerous witnesses in the morning. One was the school employee, who said the device was found close the classroom DeBatolome was in at the time.

Andy DeBartalome (credit: CBS)

During morning testimony a Lafayette police detective said he conducted a search of DeBartalome’s home and spoke with some of his friends. The detective said he found a red notebook with an entry saying:

“I will kill people I don’t like. … People like killing people because of the adrenaline rush.”

The detective said a journal was also found with a date of June 20, 2012, and it contained the following words:

“I am a psychopath by definition … I am a danger to others … I have studied terrorists most of my life … I have homicidal thoughts and have made a list of people I want to harm. People who have bullied me and have made fun of me.”

The detective said there was also a math book located inside DeBartalome’s bedroom with a cutout of a handgun on approximately the 130th page. A similarly shaped cutout, this time out of foam, was also found in a briefcase in his room, as well as foam cutouts in the shape of ammunition.

Friends of DeBartalome’s allegedly told the investigator that DeBartalome was fascinated with violence and terrorism, including the 9/11 attacks and the Boston Marathon bombing earlier this year.

One friend allegedly told the detective that DeBartalome had asked him for help with a possible plan to attack Centaurus High School. The student said he declined the offer and never reported what DeBartalome had told him because he was afraid of getting in trouble.

DeBartalome’s mother also told police her son had an interest in 9/11 and said the terrorists could have made improvements that day. She said he also had read the 9/11 commission report cover to cover.

According to testimony, DeBartalome told police he never intended for the bomb to go off or hurt anyone and that he designed it to look authentic when someone found it. Bomb experts, however, said it had all the components needed to function as a pipe bomb or explosive.